Anti-Gay Marriage Tour Sees Its Largest Crowd In Madison

By

Carlos Santoscoy

|
July 27, 2010

The National Organization for Marriage
(NOM) saw its largest crowd yet Tuesday in Madison, Wisconsin, but
counter demonstrators continued to outnumber NOM supporters.

In its tenth stop, officials behind
NOM's Summer for Marriage Tour 2010 walled off hundreds of
demonstrators from their rally. One head count put NOM supporters at
about 54 and counter protesters at 466.

This after NOM supporters were
outnumbered Monday in Indianapolis, Indiana 3 to 1. Other stops have
been equally sparse, some with as few as 20 supporters.

The mood turned somber in Indianapolis
when a sign calling for violence against gay men and lesbians was
spotted in the crowd.

The sign featured two nooses along with
the caption “The Solution To Gay Marriage” in red. It was signed
by Larry Adams of the Cross Bearer Ministry in Indianapolis.

When asked whether he believed being
gay was a choice, Adams responded that the devil had tempted him in
the past.

“I was once confused myself until I
was about 40 years old,” he said. “And I started reading the
Bible, somebody told me about reading the Bible and I started reading
it. And now I know what's right and what's wrong.”

Evan Wolfson, executive director of
Freedom to Marry, called on NOM officials to repudiate Adams.

“NOM's Summer for Marriage anti-gay
bus tour has devolved from a media gimmick to a display of prejudice
and incitement to violence,” Wolfson said.

“All Americans are harmed by the
divisiveness, prejudice and violence that NOM's actions invite,” he
added.

Equality Indiana President John Keep
told On Top Magazine that his group, along with Stonewall
Democrats, Freedom to Mary, and Parents and Friends of Lesbians and
Gays (PFLAG), was protesting the rally by showing the film Out In
Silence at a local church.

In Madison, Brian Brown, the group's
president, rejoined the bus tour after skipping three rallies.

Bishop Robert C. Morlino of the Roman
Catholic Diocese of Madison, told the crowd that “gay bashers and
gay bashings have no place among us,” a possible reference to
Monday's anti-gay sign.

In her remarks, Julianne Appling of the
Wisconsin Family Action attempted to discredit the large counter
protest by saying: “Thank you all for coming. [We hoped for a
larger turnout] but our people actually have jobs.”

The bus tour, which includes stops in
23 cities, is expected to end with a Washington D.C. rally on August
15.